When Twilight Falls
by Vhaenya
Summary: After being taken hostage by the League of Villains, Bakugo has been plagued by nightmares nightly. Fearing for his friend's safety, Kirishima takes matters into his own hands to help his bro get over his fear. Will these two be able to keep up with class 1-A's shenanigans while they struggle to realize their feelings for each other?
1. Chapter 1

_A foul and burning sensation spreads inside of him- a sear of pain wipes his panicked thoughts away and in a brief moment of clarity he thinks bitterly to himself if this is what it feels like to drink boiling tar. Hell, he'd even take boiling tar over whatever this is. He brings his hands up to his mouth and sees a black viscous fluid burst between his fingers._

 _"I can't breathe. Oh my god, I can't fucking breathe. What the fuck is this shit?" His eyes roll up to the back of his head as the pain takes over. Dimly aware of the scream of pure anger from the man standing next to him._

 _"This is it. I'm going to die." His last thought echoes as the fluid covers his whole body and contorts him as he's slowly pulled into the mass of it. His clenched fist falls slack as his oxygen deprived brain shuts down. Before he fades into the unknown, a raspy laugh rings out on all sides of him._

"NO!" Katsuki thrashes in his bed and falls to the floor, his legs tightly wrapped in his sweat-soaked bed sheets. The strain of his binds sets him off in a gasping fit.

Ever since being bound by the villains who took off with him last month, restraints put him in a sort of panic. Not being able to do shit, not being able to take care of himself. Not being able to be a hero. He was the sole reason why All Might had to retire early. He feels himself getting dizzy from all of his hyperventilating and he smashes a fist against the wooden floor, sparks of flames dance in the dark room before sputtering out. A fresh wave of panic rushes over him as his fight to get control over his breathing is an apparent losing battle.

The door flings open and Katsuki feels the vibration of hurried footsteps.

"Oh my god, bro! What's happening?!" Katsuki struggles to get up, but his arms don't want to cooperate. A pair of strong hands prop him up quickly and firmly rubs Katsuki's back in small and slow circles.

"Hey, Bakugo, it's okay. Just breathe for me, okay dude? Relax. It was all just a dream." The voice whispers behind him and slowly, very slowly Katsuki gets his breathing under control. He bows his head in shame, even after a month, he's still getting these nightmares every night. They've never been this bad before. Not even his first attack was like that the night after it happened at his house. Damn near burnt down the whole house, his mom was not very pleased to rush into his room and only find it going up in flames.

Boy, did he receive an earful after the fire department left. It's not like he purposely set his room on fire. It's not _his_ fault that he was surrounded with such flammable items. His parents should know that cotton goes up like no other. Maybe they should just have polyester everything throughout the damn house if they're so worried.

"I'm fine, go away." The warm hand retracts but the boy doesn't leave.

"I mean, are you sure you're okay? To be honest, I actually surprised the fire alarm didn't go off. Do you think the batteries are working? Maybe they're dead." Katsuki pushes himself off from the floor and turns around to glare at his red haired neighbor.

"What fucking part of _I'm fine_ do you not understand, dipshit?" Kirishima sighs and puts his hands up in hopes of quelling Katsuki's growing anger.

"Look my dude, I'm just..."

"Just _what_?" _I fucking swear to god, if you say that you're worried for me. I'll blow the stupid dorm to kingdom come. I'll blow you to kingdom come. Hell, I'll even blow myself to fucking kingdom come. Don't need no one's damn stupid pity or damn worry._ Kirishima looks into Katsuki's fiery eyes and must've sensed the storm brewing behind them. He shakes his head and smiles at Katsuki.

"I'm just looking out for my friends. And also, like, you kinda woke me up. Can't believe that you didn't wake up Shoji though. Damn, he must be a real heavy sleeper." He pauses "But, you can always talk to me y'know." Katsuki clenches his fists and pushes Kirishima out of his room.

"Nothing is wrong with me. I was just... I was just- it's none of your damn fuckin' business actually. Just leave." He slides the door shut, Kirishima's concerned red eyes are the last thing he sees as the light from the hallway gives way to the darkness of his room.

Katsuki slides down against the wall and holds his head, fingers threatening to tear out his hair. Only now, in the darkness of his room, does he allow himself to cry.

* * *

Katsuki always had an air of superiority to himself. Even as a child, his headstrong attitude always pushed him to the top and there was nothing that he couldn't do. Teachers, peers and the elders of his neighborhood always praised him. Stoking his ego that he'll be the best there ever was.

He was going to be the best, dammit. Or so he thought. Up until now, he was so confidant in gaining ranks. Now? Now he isn't so sure. Since his outburst in the middle of the night three days ago, he's refused to sleep. At all.

On the plus side, he's done all the future school work a month in advance. On the negative side, he's been so exhausted that his classmates have started to call him Aizawa Junior. While his eye bags and dark circles are nowhere as prominent as his teacher's they're sure as hell on their way. Oh, and he's pretty sure that he's started to hallucinate, which is cool he guesses.

Just earlier this morning, the whole room started to shift and warp. Immediately thinking that it was Shigaraki coming back to finish the job, he jumped up in the middle of the lesson and promptly freaked the fuck out. Totally reasonable he argued. The teacher seemed to think likewise and sent him to see Recovery Girl. With Kirishima escorting him. Of all people.

Katsuki stalks ahead of him, Kirishima in no rush to catch up.

"Hey."

"Shut up, would ya? No hey. I don't wanna talk about shit. Capiche?" The hem of his sleeve is tugged on and he's brought to a stop. Ruby eyes flashing like daggers. Kirishima doesn't let go of Katsuki's sleeve and stares down at the ground.

"Have... you even gotten sleep since-"

"It's none of ya damn business."

Kirishima's hand tightens and he lifts his gaze from the floor. Katsuki notes something different in his eyes. It was a look he frequently sees in his own reflection. Fierce determination.

"Take a look at yourself dude, you almost gave Present Mic a faceful of fire. Like damn, you can't keep doing this. You're gonna die if you don't get at least some sort of sleep!" Every voice in Katsuki's head screams to rip away from the red head's grasp but instead he doesn't move. He just stares at Kirishima.

"Look here and listen closely because Imma say this only once," He holds up one finger close to Kirishima's face. "I'm _not_ weak. I don't need help-"

"But you _do_!" Katsuki is taken aback from the sudden outburst from the slightly shorter teen. He opens his mouth to retaliate but Kirishima shakes his head.

"No, it's time for you to listen to me! I can't continue to just do nothing but watch as you slowly just _kill_ yourself over this! You know how unmanly that would be of me?! I came here because I have a heart that cares," He thumps a fist against his chest and he puffs up with pride. "How could I call myself a hero in training if I couldn't even help out one of my friends?! I'd be nothing but a coward. A selfish coward. And I'm not here out of pity," Kirishima states before Katsuki himself could say it. "You're my friend dammit. We need to stick together." Katsuki says nothing, deciding that he's too tired to try to fight with this dumb hardheaded teen. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his pants and turns around.

"Still don't need no damn help, ya spikey fuck." He mutters under his breath as Kirishima rushes up to walk next to him, "What are you doing? Just- just go back to class. Don't need no damn babysitter either dammit." Kirishima greets him with his trademark smile, Katsuki side glances at his mouth. _Jesus, those fuckin' shark teeth could really fuck a bitch up._

"I'm not _no damn babysitter_."

"Yeah, yeah." _Could this walk to Recovery Girl's office take any longer?_

* * *

"So you haven't been sleeping?" Katsuki sits awkwardly in the overly cute office of Recovery Girl, she mumbles some things under her breath as she flips through his file.

"Sleep is for the weak anyway." She peers over her spectacles at him and tuts.

"Are you sure that you don't want to take a few days off and rest at home?"

"And let those assholes get ahead of me? Hell nah."

"You know that there's nothing worse for a growing boy than to not sleep." Katsuki leans back and rubs his hand against his face in irritation.

"Oh my god, is today _Give Bakugo Shitty Advice Day_ or sumthin'? Look, if it'll really get fuckin' everyone off my damn back I'll just go up to my room like a good lil' boy and go straight to damn sleep."

"I thought you said sleep was for the weak?"

"Well, at this point, I'd rather at least be in the peace and quiet of my fucking room than to have people constantly fret over me like I'm their damn baby."

* * *

When he arrives at his room, he haphazardly peels off his clothes and crawls into his nicely made bed. The ticking of the clock fills the dark room with a reassuring background noise.

"Ugh, dammit." Katsuki glares up at his ceiling and lets out a puff of frustration. Every time he finds himself nodding off, something inside screams at him to stay awake. Something that he's never really felt before. Something he supposed was called fear. A tight constrictive feeling wraps itself around his heart and thoughts cold as ice whisper their doubt and hate in every corner of his mind.

Even getting angry costs too much energy so he just broods with his newfound edginess. _Hope this doesn't mean I have to hang out with that damn bird boy and listen to some depressive My Chemical Romance or Taking Back Sunday or some shit like that._

His eyes slowly feel heavier and heavier despite the weak attempts to stay up. His air conditioner kicks on and its hum starts to lull him to sleep.

 _He's back in his childhood room, All Might smiles gallantly from the posters plastered all across his room. Soft moonlight filters through the blinds of his windows and he breaths a sigh of relief. Despite not wanting to admit it, he does kind of miss his home and even his parents he supposes. A childhood dream is a welcome change._

 _Katsuki tries to look out the window but it's too high up and he can only catch fleeting glances of the moon as it plays a game of hide and seek with the clouds. If he had been slightly taller, he would have seen a dark shadow dart across the silent street below._

 _The muffled drawl of the television downstairs catches his attention and he makes his way to the door, eager to see his parents again. Outside of his room, the rest of the house is purged in inky darkness. He doesn't dwell on this too much as he knows his mom is a stickler to keeping unnecessary lights off. Something about a Bill? Katsuki didn't know that his mom knew any Bills. Well, whoever this Bill was, he was a jerk._

 _He slowly makes his way down the stairs, each step he takes sounds like a gun shot. He always hated how creaky the stairs were. He'd never admit it, but it can be kind of creepy. A sudden outburst of voices freezes him on the spot. Whoever they were, they were arguing with his parents. Maybe it was Bill? He outta go down there and give this Bill character a piece of his damn mind. With newfound confidence he continues down the stairs and down another dark hallway towards the living room._

 _Katsuki still can't make out the voices but undoubtedly his mom is fucking pissed. His dad isn't saying anything but that's not much of a surprise. He peeks into the living room and pure, unadulterated fear roots him down to the ground. He feels his stomach drop to his feet and his heart jump up to his throat. In the room, his mom kneels in front of his father who is coated in blood and isn't moving. Two tall and dark shadows stand in front of her and laugh a familiar raspy chuckle._

 _"Tell me where he's at and I'll let you go."_

 _"Like hell, I'd tell you. Why don't you go fuck yourself right to hell?!" The figure takes a step forward and picks her up by the collar of her shirt._  
 _"Mom!" His mom and the two towering shadows pause and look at him. A thin smile creeps across one of the shadow's faces._

 _"Well, well. There he is."_

 _"Katsuki, run."_

 _"Let my mom go!" The figure turns back to his mom and shrugs._

 _"If you say so." He brings his other hand to his mom's face and presses them into her skin. She screams "run" once more before her skin starts to crack and crumble. He watches in horror as her cracked skin turns grey and before he could even react, she falls into herself. Nothing but a pile of ash._

 _"Now you'll be coming with us." The second figure slowly makes its way to him and he feels a warm trickle run down his legs. They lean close and reach down towards-_

Katsuki bolts up with a scream. He stares down at his hands and is at least able to calm down his breathing this time. He wearily peers over at the clock and sees that it's only been an hour since he had lain down.

A soft and tentative knock makes him jump.

"What do you want?" He asks gruffly. The person at the door takes that as an invitation and slides it open gently. He only has to see the silhouette of that stupid and spikey hair to instantly know that it's none other than Kirishima.

"I'm turning on the light, okay?" He waits until Katsuki grunts out a "whatever". It takes a second for his eyes to adjust.

"Can you at least shut the fuckin' door? I don't want more of you assholes just bargin' in like you own the damn place." Kirishima smiles slightly and nods. After he shut the door he pads his way to Katsuki's desk chair and plops down.

Neither boy say anything. Katsuki glowers down at the wooden floor, wishing to be just about anywhere but his dorm as Kirishima studies him unblinkingly. Katsuki clears his throat but continues to bore holes into his floor.

"Look, I don't know why you just 'bout stalking me. Always comin' in and just staring at me with your big dumb fucking eyes every time I have a dream." Kirishima snorts.

"I'm not stupid bro; those ain't dreams. Just about the whole class knows you get nightmares." Great, just another reason for him to push himself even more. Damn snoopy fuckers probably think that he can't take it anymore and is cracking. Well, he has something else for them then. A good boot up all their asses. Now _that_ would be a damn sweet dream right there.

"Hey! Earth to Bakugo!" A calloused hand waves in front of him, bringing him from his happy daydream.

"Man, what the fuck do you want?"

"I want to make sure my buddy is okay!"

"Well, I'm okay. So fuckin' leave. Don't let the door hit you when you leave either."

"I mean... They're sliding doors. They kinda... can't hit me." Katsuki cracks his knuckles.

"Wanna find out, fucker?" Kirishima leans back on the chair and lets out a frustrated groan.

"Oh my god, just let me help you!"

"Me throwing you through a damn door would help me a lot actually."

"Dude. Rude. No." Katsuki leans against the bed frame and lets out a hiss.

"Then _leave_ god dammit."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. Look! I even brought some homework with me!" Katsuki glares at him and shrugs.

"Whatever, you damn creep. I don't know what you think will happen. Besides me being creeped out that some asshole extra is in my room. Like Jesus, if you're gonna be in here, can I at least like put some damn pants on?" Kirishima coughs suddenly, nods and swivels his chair away from him. _Damn red haired bastard. Why does he gotta care so much anyway? Like I gotta second mom now or some shit._ He digs out a pair of sweat pants and pulls them up swiftly before heading back to his bed.

"So why are you up here bothering me?" Kirishima swirls back around with a smile already plastered on his face. _Does he ever NOT smile?_

"When I was younger, I'd have nightmares too-"

"Wow, con-fucking-gratulations."

"Hey, let me finish jerk." Kirishima waits to see if Katsuki will come back with a retort but he's so tired that he just doesn't care anymore. Especially if it's about some dumb childhood nightmare.

"Anyway! When I was younger I'd always have these bad nightmares and like, it was bad bro. But like, my mom started staying in the room with me when I would go to bed and her presence was like- I dunno. A light in the dark?"

"Then why didn't they just buy you a damn stupid night light?" He couldn't hold back that one, sometimes, the stupidity of people just gives him a burst of energy or whatever. It was like his second calling in life to call out every single dumb person in the world. Poor fucks gotta know how stupid they look and sound. He likes to believe that he's done well so far on his noble quest.

"They wouldn't work you asshole. They would even leave the bedroom light on and I'd still get 'em."

"That's rough buddy."

"Dude! You are impossible!"

"Says the one that refuses to leave my room." Kirishima clasps his hands together as if praying to a higher being.

"Look, all I'm saying is that maybe this will help you. I won't stay the whole night because like, I got my own bed. But, I think this will work."

"Soooo, you just wanna sit there and do your homework while I sleep? Once again, you're a fucking creep." Kirishima leans back in the chair and gets up with a shrug.

"Okay, guess you'd rather just live the rest of your life being _scared_ so much for being number one, huh? Guess that means that Midoriya will beat you in everything since you'll be so tired. But I suppose I'll get going." _Dammit. Damn fucking idiot can sure know how to play dirty._

"Fuck no. Sit your ass back down." A sharp toothy smile beams down at him.

"Awesome! Here, let me turn off the lights. Just focus on going back to bed bro."

Once again, Katsuki is engulfed in darkness and he hears Kirishima sneak back to the desk.

"Wait, how the hell you gonna do homework in the dark dumbass?"

"Well, I didn't really think this far ahead but I'll just go on my phone instead. Homework can wait." The two boys stay silent for a few moments.

"Kirishima." The other boy just about jumps in his seat- either from being startled or by Katsuki calling him by his actual name.

"Yes?"

"I swear to every god that exists and doesn't exist in this world. If you tell _anyone_ about this, I will personally set everything and everyone you love ablaze in a wild fury."

"I won't tell, settle down. Go to sleep." And so he did fall asleep. For the first time since before he was taken, he had exactly zero nightmares.

* * *

Author's Note

Okay, to be honest... I never thought I would pick up writing again. Life is so busy these days;; Anyway, I finally got sucked into the BNHA series. My old manager at Hot Topic would be so proud of me. Or disappointed it took me this long to get into it... I'm starting to think I just have an affinity for grumpy shouty people when I write. He's a pretty complex character though and I really want to work on the other side of Bakugo besides him just being y'know... just angry shouty and running down the halls screaming "fuck" 24/7. I suppose they're all actually pretty complex. I'll definitely add more of class 1-A! Just getting warmed back up. Upload schedule might be kind of weird because I work nights but, it shouldn't be too much of a problem because my job is much more calm during the fall/winter months. Anyway, it's nice to be back! Until then, fairwinds!


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since discovering his quirk at the tender age of three, Eijiro absolutely has been enthralled with superheros- specifically Crimson Riot. His chivalrous spirit promoting manliness, honesty, loyalty and strength had lit a fire in young Eijiro's heart and inspired him to be the best that he can.

After being accepted into UA, Eijiro has taken it upon himself to continue living up to his hero's teachings. He's never one to leave his fellow students behind and strives to spread smiles and happiness through his actions. Naturally, it pulls at his heartstrings to see one of his best friends to go through such a rough time.

Eijiro also understands that jumping into action without a plan would be about as smart as walking into a dragon's den equipped with nothing but a foam sword. His explosive friend would have no quells in blasting any of their classmates to smithereens if they tried to hold an intervention. Of which Midoriya is trying to plan. Out of good intentions of course; but, when it comes to Midoriya, Bakugo's already short fuse seems to ignite in .02 milliseconds.

"I- I just never seen Kacchan like this before, it really has me worried for him." Most of class 1-A lounge in the quiet living room. Midoriya is in the middle of the sofa, squashed between Uraraka and Iida, parallel to Eijiro and his best bros- Sero and Kaminari. Even the ever elusive Todoroki is leaning on the back of Midoriya's sofa listening intently.

"I mean, have you seen him lately?" Midoriya nervously looks down and starts to fiddle with his fingers.

"Yeah, yeah we've all seen how poor Aizawa Junior has been." Ashido laughs out loud as she plops down on the arm of the sofa. Kaminari lazily hands the phone to her.

"Here's your phone back. Stop using me just for my quirk dammit. I have feelings too!"

"Mhmm, thanks Pikachu!" She leaps away from Kaminari as he tries to playfully shove her off the sofa.

"Too slow!" She dashes up to the elevator and sticks her tongue out at Iida who reminds her not to run after they just cleaned up so she wouldn't slip and get hurt.

"I agree with Midoriya. We need to do something to help him, at the rate he's going. I'm worried he's just going to crash and burn before the end of the term. Ribbit." Asui doesn't look up from the book she's reading but taps her mouth thoughtfully, "However, we all know that he won't accept help from us."

"Asu... Tsuyu do you have any ideas?"

"It would probably be for the best if just one of us talks to him. Maybe that's all he needs is a friend to talk to." Midoriya jumps up, startling Uraraka who had dozed off.

"Wha-?!"

"Oh, sorry Uraraka. I think that's a really good idea! I've known Kacchan the longest-" Eijiro also stands up and shakes his head.

"Midoriya, buddy... bro. I don't think it should be you. There's just something about your face that he just, I dunno, wants to punch? Kinda weird since you both are childhood friends and all. Buuut anyway! I'll go and talk to him!"

Midoriya cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow.

"Are you sure Kirishima? Um, like I've said, I've known him the longest and maybe... I could understand him better?" Kaminari barks out a laugh and slaps his knee.

"Damn Midoriya. It's like you're asking for your face to get blown off or sumthin'. Look, let Kirishima handle it, yeah? He got that hardening quirk so he couldn't get blown up no matter how hard Mr. Explosion tries. It's a win-win for all of us! We get to sleep safely in our beds for another night and even if Bakugo doesn't talk to Kirishima and explodes, at least he'll blow off some steam instead." the other classmates nod eagerly with Kaminari's counterargument and Eijiro's heart swells up with pride. He has a mission that he won't back down on, Mission: Saving Bakugo.

* * *

So here he is, one night later in Bakugo's room. In the dark. He's never one to admit it because it goes against his own firm beliefs, but Eijiro hates being in the dark. It's not at all like he's scared of the dark per say but more of the unknown lurking in the dark- hidden from sight and mind. He's gotta give Tokoyami props for embracing the dark though- or revelry in the dark as he likes to say.

Eijiro hears a noise and whips his head around, trying to locate the source of the noise. _The hell was that? No way this place is haunted, s'like only a month old!_ He hears it again and freezes, positive that whatever is in here can hear the thunderous pounds of his heartbeat.

"Fuck off, ma," A gruff voice grumbles to his right and Eijiro has to stifle a giggle. "Get outta here, can't ya see me cookin' here?!" _Holy shit! Bakugo talks in his sleep?_ He hears the sound again and after he's calmed down, he realizes that it was only Bakugo restlessly shifting around in his bed. _Of course it would just be him moving around! I can't believe I almost had a heart attack over nothing! Boy, I'm so glad Kaminari wasn't here to see that. I'd never live that down!_ Eijiro goes back to his phone, trying his hardest to stay quiet.

"Wuz that? Ya think you're better than me?! We'll see about that, punk!" Eijiro pays him no mind until a few quiet moments later Bakugo bursts up from bed screaming "die!" at whoever he's fighting in his dream. After almost having his second heart attack of the night, Eijiro decides that Bakugo will be okay without him in the room for the rest of the night. He takes a peek at his phone's clock and sees that it's already nearly two in the morning.

He pushes off from the chair as quiet as a mouse and creeps over to the door, taking one more glance at his sleeping friend who had settled down after his outburst. _He'll be fine. If anything happens, I'm right next door anyway!_

Crawling into his own bed, he wraps himself into a blanket burrito. In order for Eijiro to be able to fall asleep, he needs three things. His room to be near freezing cold, to be wrapped up in as many soft and warm blankets as possible, and thirdly, to have the light in his bathroom on. The warm light casts soft shadows across his room as he snuggles down into his downy pillow. Hearing the occasional shout from his sleeping neighbor, Eijiro quickly falls asleep with a small smile.

* * *

Eijiro wakes up before the sunrise. As long as he could remember, his parents and him would always get up before dawn and go to the nearest park to watch the sunrise. He supposes old habits die hard as he makes his way up to the roof of the dorm building. This time however, he brings some dumbbells with. Might as well get some exercise in, gotta kill two birds with one stone.

The cool September wind swirls around playfully, tousling Eijiro's hair. Despite coming up to the roof every morning to watch the sunrise, he will never be able to get over the breathtaking view that his spot has to offer. With UA already being set on top of a hill, surrounded by nothing but forest there's probably no other place that offers a view like this. The leaves have began to change color earlier in the month and all below him stand the fiery hues of oranges, reds and yellows.

Still a little too early for the sunrise, Eijiro plugs in his headphones and begins to stretch. Letting his tired mind wander back to last night. He's still not quite sure on how else to help out his bro. He bites his lip on accident and silently curses to himself that sometimes, his teeth are just a little _too_ sharp.

A sudden tap on his shoulder startles him, ripping out his headphones- he turns around quickly.

"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?" Midoriya stands sheepishly behind him, scratching the back of his head and offers him a smile.

"Dude! Not cool!"

"Haha, sorry sorry," Midoriya pauses and stares down at the forest, "Did you talk to Kacchan?" Eijiro sighs and rolls back his shoulders.

"I mean, kinda? Y'know how he is. He let me stay in the room though so he could get some sleep."

"Really? Wow, I mean that is saying a lot coming from Kacchan." Eijiro doesn't really say anything but focuses on the horizon.

"I knew that it would work."  
"What would work, Kirishima?" He glances down at Midoriya and gives him a confident smile.

"When I was young, I _always_ had nightmares. Nothing would help me except for my mom being in the room with me and she would just softly sing until I fell asleep." He pauses before quickly adding, "I mean, I didn't sing Bakugo to sleep haha."

"No, I get what you mean." The small teen next to him chuckles and shakes his head.

"You know it's a lot different seeing the sunrise from up here." He motions at the rising sun, "I usually always jog at this time but man, Kirishima, this is a damn good place to watch the sunrise." The two watch for a quiet moment as the sky is bathed in soft purples and pinks, the clouds turn a dusty gold from reflecting off the sun.

"Yeah. It really is."

* * *

"Imma win this time, mark my words Pinky!"

"Come at me then, bro! I can kick all your asses in my _sleep_!" Ashido yells out as she flings Sero's character off the screen. Kirishima smashes the buttons in hopes of beating the feared overlord of Super Smash Bros and to finally end the tyranny of Ashido once and for all. Now it was only down to Ashido and her Kirby and Eijiro's King Dedede. Kaminari and Sero shout in Eijiro's ears.

"Kick her ass! Avenge us!" _Finally! I'm going to beat her!_ His hands harden in excitement and ignores the strain of the Wii U remote.

"Ya, spikey hair." The new voice breaks his focus and with an evil cackle, Ashido releases her ultimate move and absolutely destroys poor King Dedede. Both boys on either side of him let out a wail in agony and demand a rematch with her. Eijiro sees Bakugo leaning against the wall with a ghost of a smirk playing upon his lips.

"You did that on purpose!" The blond rolls his eyes.

"As if I have room to care about some stupid ass game," He huffs out, "I need to talk to you." His other three friends seem not to hear as they're still bickering on the character selection screen.

* * *

Bakugo and Eijiro make their way up to the fourth floor. Stopping abruptly, Bakugo stands expectantly in front of Eijiro's own room impatiently.

"Well? If you get to just up and fucking barge in my room, you might as well see how it feels too."

"Uh, yeah that's fine. It's unlocked." Bakugo opens the door and makes himself at home on Eijiro's bed. He takes a look around the room and snorts.

"The hell is with your room?"

"Hey! It's very manly!"

"If you say so." Eijiro sits down opposite of him, in his desk chair.

"How're you feeling, Bakugo?" Bakugo dismisses him with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah, I don't wanna talk 'bout that." He glares out of the window, his thin eyebrows knitting together- drawing a shadow over his sharp red eyes, "I mean, I guess I do gotta talk 'bout it huh? Ugh, stop looking at me jesus. Just look somewhere else okay? Okay." Eijiro turns his chair around and studies the clock ticking above his desk. He hears the irritated drumming of Bakugo's fingers against his headboard.

"I don't know what the fuck you did last night but whatever the hell it was- it worked. I swear, if you say that it was from the power of friendship or some lame shit like that; I'm outta here." _Holy shit, is he trying to thank me?_ "I just gotta say that if you tell _anyone_ about this..." Bakugo trails off. "It's bad 'nough they already know I got nightmares. No need for 'em to fucking know that I gotta have you in the room or some shit for me to sleep. Man, that sounds so fucking stupid now that I say that out loud. Dammit." _Well, guess it's best not to let him know that Midoriya knows then._

The bedsprings squeak as Bakugo stands up suddenly.

"This shit is so damn stupid. What am I? Some sort of school kid whip? This is just so _fucking_ frustrating. I try so damn hard and what happens? I'm just stuck with these nightmares. Like seriously?!" As he ends the sentence, he finishes it off with an angry shout.

"This shouldn't even be a problem for me! I'm going to be number one! I don't have time for some worthless nightmares." He continues to vent and before Eijiro can stop himself, he stands up and clasps his hands on Bakugo's tense shoulders.

"Bakugo! Dammit, listen to me."

"Get offa me punk, wanna die?" Bakugo makes no movement to shake him off but just glowers into Eijiro's soul.

"Bro, you went through a lot of shit. It's normal to have nightmares. It'll be okay."

"I didn't come here to get some motivational speech from you." Eijiro takes a step back, crosses his arms and studies the irritated blond in front of him.

"Okay, so then why are you here?" Bakugo lets out a puff of exasperation and plops back down on the bed.

"To make a proposition, dumbass." Eijiro says nothing and instead sits back down on his chair, waiting for him to continue. "You keep doing whatever the hell you do so I can actually get some sort of fuckin' sleep and in return I'll tutor you." Eijiro feels his grin spread and he jumps up to his feet.

"Wait- really?! Holy shit! Deal bro!"

* * *

For the next few weeks, the two teens fall into a routine. After classes, Bakugo tutors to Eijiro as much as his patience can handle and after Eijiro's nightly work out, he makes his way to Bakugo's room to just chill for a few hours until Bakugo is long knocked out.

Eijiro leans back against the wall and beams up at his friend.

"Bro! I actually got a good grade on that test! You're the best!" Bakugo snorts.

"Damn right I'm the best. Now shuddup, I'm trying to get some shut eye."

Eijiro himself is about to fall asleep when he hears a startled shout from the bed above him. Eijiro jumps to his feet. _This has never happened with me in the room before!_

"Bakugo!" The boy thrashes in his sleep and a series of pops and crackles warn that there's going to be an incoming of fire. "Bakugo, wake up!" _There's no time to gently wake him up, he's going to set the whole building on fire!_ Fire starts to dance upon Bakugo's palms, licking up and down his fingers. The bed sheets start to smolder and the smell of burning fabric fills the air.

Eijiro activates his own quirk and jumps onto the bed and shakes Bakugo's shoulders gently, but hard enough for him to start to wake up. Relief floods Eijiro's heart as Bakugo's eyes shoot open. The fear in his eyes instills a feeling of dread that shakes the core of Eijiro; Bakugo quickly reaches up and grabs Eijiro in a tight hug. _Oh my god, I've never seen him scared before. This is bad, real bad._ He's never been this close to Bakugo before. The smell of smoke still hangs in the air but Eijiro is still able to smell the spice of Bakugo's shampoo. A soft blend of cinnamon, cloves and he thinks ginger?

"Baku-" The strong arms around him tighten and he hears a sob.

"I actually died- I never died before. Fuck, it was so goddamn real," both of them stay quiet for a few seconds before Bakugo pushes Eijiro away. Bakugo sits up, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turn white. Eijiro puts a tentative hand on his arm.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Bakugo drops his head and shakes it tiredly.

"No. Nothing is fucking okay. And no, I'm not gonna fucking talk about it." He looks over at Eijiro and frowns, "Did I burn you?"

"Nah, bro. I'm fine." _Is he worrying about me?_ Eijiro doesn't know what to say and clears his throat.

"Do... you want to try to go back to sleep?"

" _Fuck_ no! I don't wanna go to sleep for the rest of my life. Fuck that shit." They sit in uncomfortable silence for what seems to be the longest time.

"I need to clear my mind." Bakugo swings his feet over the bed and throws on sweatpants over his shorts and heads out the door.

Kirishima looks down at his hands before getting up and trudging to his own room.

"I failed." He mutters to no one in particular as he shuts the door gently behind him and for once, letting the darkness envelope him.

* * *

The next day Eijiro stays locked up in his room, researching on how to help someone get over nightmares. He knows that seeing someone might help, but the day that Bakugo agrees to see a doctor will be the day that hell freezes over. He frowns at some of the advice he sees like: " _Get more sunlight and take essential oils, they always work!_ " or " _Get a dreamcatcher!_ " However, some websites do seem to give somewhat helpful information. " _Try to reduce stress!_ " Eijiro runs a hand through his hair, since it's Sunday and there's no class today- he didn't even bother to spike it when he got up this morning.

"Reduce stress? I don't know if that's even possible for him. Dude's a walking ball of fury. Not exactly peaceful." Muttering to himself, he doesn't notice the door slide open.

"You're starting to sound like fucking Deku over there. I can hear you through the damn wall." Eijiro jumps in his seat, a string of words catches his eyes before slamming his laptop shut.

"Bakugo! Where have you been?! I looked all over for you this morning." He shrugs and glares down at his feet.

"Told you, had to clear my damn head."

"Well... Did it work?" Bakugo shuffles in the room and flops down on the bed, not saying anything for a while before shaking his head.

"They were just so _fucking_ close that time. It's like with every damn nightmare they get closer and closer. Until they... actually fucking killed me I couldn't even do anything. I couldn't even move. Fucking hell. I can still feel the pain." He absently rubs his hand on his chest and grimaces, "The hell is wrong with me?" Bakugo's hand reaches up towards the ceiling and slowly closes and drops down over his eyes, "These damn headaches don't help worth shit either."

"Do you want me to get something for that? I bet Iida got something for headaches!"

"Nah, just stay there. I don't even wanna move. I'm so exhausted." " _Be there for them, comfort them. That's all you can really do sometimes."_ That line whispers to him and he claps his hands together.

"There might be something that will help." Bakugo doesn't even move, he just snorts.

"I don' think anything will help Kirishima." _He said my name again._

"Okay, like it might sound weird but you gotta listen. Let me lay down with you." At this Bakugo wearily props himself on the bed and gives him a questioning look.

"And how in the hell would that help?" Eijiro leans back in his chair and sighs, he can feel his face grow warm.

"Because maybe you just- I dunno, need a comforting presence?"

"Are you comforting?" Eijiro gets up.

"Well, I guess I could always get Midori-"

" _Don't_ even finish that name dammit," Bakugo sighs, "Sure. Fine. Fucking whatever. Not like I got anything to lose anymore. Just remember if you tell anyone-" Eijiro waves him off.

"I know, you'll burn everything and everyone I love and hold dearly." Bakugo tiredly shoots a finger gun at him. _What is he even doing?_

"Bingo." Eijiro climbs into his bed and Bakugo reluctantly slides over to make room on the small bed for him. Eijiro chuckles under his breath.

"Nothing weird with two bros taking a nap at ten in the morning yeah?" Bakugo rolls over on his side, his back facing Eijiro.

"Shuddup before ya do make it weird. Damn punk." Eijiro stares up at the ceiling trying to calm down his ever beating heart. _Why am I feeling so nervous? Oh, probably because there's a chance I'll wake up and fire will be everywhere._ Slowly oh so slowly his eyes close and nods off in a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Ya." A sharp elbow pokes him in the ribs and he automatically activates his quirk.

"Who's there?!" Another jab to the ribs.

"It's me, you're hogging all the damn blankets and it's cold as shit in here. Stop being a blanket hog." A warm blush creeps across his face and he untucks his blanket burrito for Bakugo.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Whatever asshole." Bakugo pulls the blankets up to his chin and his breathing become slow and relaxed. Once again does Eijiro find himself lulled quietly off to sleep. This time with a dream.

* * *

Author's Note

I thought I would get done with this chapter earlier but I got distracted by YouTube videos... Also, I'm not sure why, but I can totally see Kirishima playing as King Dedede? Also, time to be honest. I've never even played Super Smash Bros but it seemed like something the gang would play together. I actually have a lotion that has that smell, I really like it. It's called... Fire lol. Smells so good though. After writing this chapter I'm just imagining Bakugo speaking with a New York accent. Just kinda fits him? Anyway, that's all I really have to add for now. If there's any pairings you want incorporated in here feel free to let me know, I'm pretty lax with writing with more ships. Well, until then. Fairwinds. It's finally off to sleepland for me.

If you see any asterisks anywhere, I'm sorry. I work off of two computers and I use an online program to write everything but it doesn't have an italic feature so I put asterisks to mark where italics are needed. I reread the chapters a few times but I still might miss a couple here or there once in a while. Just let me know if you see any and I'll fix it up!


	3. Chapter 3

Sunlight filters through and wakes Katsuki up from his long needed nap. _The fuck am I at?_ A heavy arm lays draped across his stomach and he tenses, not remembering anything that happened before his nap. He blinks a few times and instead of seeing a couple of All Might posters smiling down, he's greeted by the intense image of Crimson Riot staring back at him. _Oh right. Kirishima's._ The teen next to him snores in confirmation and Katsuki pushes Kirishima's face away from the crook of his neck. _What am I? Some sorta damn body pillow for him?_ Kirishima instantly wakes up and gives him a startled look, a light blush dusts against his cheeks before he quickly gives Katsuki some room.

"Wha? What time is it?" Katsuki digs around for his phone, and sighs irritably. _Dammit it's probably under his bed._

"Dunno. Can't find my fuckin' phone," Katsuki wraps the blankets closely to him and shivers, "Why do you keep it so damn cold in here? If I wanted to be freezing, I'd go fuck off to Antarctica and go to school with those stupid ass penguins instead."

"Okay first, it's not that cold in here, take a chill pill bro. Second, what's your damage with penguins? They're precious! Also I don't think they go to school. But could you imagine if they had quirks like our principal? That would be so adorable, yo!"

"That wouldn't be adorable, it would be stupid."

"Were you beaten up by a gang of penguins when you were younger or something? Why are you against penguins? They're perfect; who knows, maybe there's a penguin out there with your quirk! A lil' Bakupenguin! Bakuguin? Penggo? I'll have to show you a video later of them chasing a butterfly! You'll love it."

"I doubt it. I don't got time to watch some lame ass birds, that can't even fuckin' fly, waddling after a butterfly. That penguin would probably single handily melt the whole damn ice cap."

"Still gonna show it to you," Kirishima starts to pat around the bed, "Wait- I think I found my phone. Just a second," With a small shout of victory he retrieves his phone from under his pillow.

"Aaaand it's almost dead."

"Shoulda charged it then, dweeb. Anyway, I don't care about that. What time is it."

"Oh, it's three."

"Three? Oh my fucking god." _I can't believe I actually even fucking fell asleep._ He falls back into the pillow and groans, trying to ignore the rumbling of his stomach. Kirishima lifts an amused eyebrow at him. _Why are his eyebrows so tiny? Kinda unsettling._

"Sounds like someone is hungry."

"Shuddup will ya?" Kirishima crawls over him, Katsuki fights the strong urge to punt Kirishima into next week. He digs through his wardrobe and brings out a pair of jeans and makes his way to the bathroom.

"Let's get some lunch. I feel like I could eat a horse."

"Your face looks like a horse," Katsuki grumbles under his breath and he looks under the bed and grabs his phone. He stumbles out of Kirishima's dorm and into his own. He digs through his dresser and pulls out a pair of ripped black jeans. _Good enough._ Grabbing a red and black plaid button up and quickly changes. He opens his door as Kirishima is about to knock. He retracts his hand and laughs.

"I was wondering where you went!" Katsuki scoffs at him and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Ain't just boutta stroll into mess hall lookin' like trash. The hell, I ain't no damn hobo," He looks up and down at Kirishima's outfit. "But apparently you are." Kirishima is wearing a faded grey tank top half tucked into his poorly did acid wash jeans and his hair is thrown into a half attempted bun. Kirishima sadly shakes his head.

"You just don't understand the beauty of art bro."

"If you consider that art, I'd rather fuckin' blind myself."

"Uh, wow. Rude. Plus, I forgot to do laundry last night so this is all I got."

* * *

"Well, well well! Where have _you two_ been all day?" _Of course these assholes have to be here._ Sero motions Kirishima and Katsuki over to their table and waggles his eyebrows at the two.

"None ya damn business Scotch Tape." Sero sticks his tongue out at Katsuki and in he return he flips off the lanky teen.

"Kiri, you missed it! I beat Ashido at Super Mario Kart. It was glorious!" Ashido pushes Kaminari away and crosses her arms with a pout.

"I _let_ you win that game because I felt _bad_ that you can't win at life."

"Yeah Kaminari you can't even win your own mom's love!" Kirishima adds to the group and Sero has to wipe tears from his eyes as Ashido doubles over in laughter.

"Damn Kaminari, it ain't that hard. I was winnin' her love all night!" Sero barks out and Ashido and Kirishima start to howl. Katsuki ignores the group's antics and focuses on chowing down on Lunch Rush's food. _I'm going to have to get this recipe. This shit is damn good._

"Guys not funny. My mom died last year." Kaminari looks down at his lap and instantly all the smiles from his friends disappear. Kirishima gently lays his hand on Kaminari's shoulder in condolence and Ashido makes her way over to hug him. Sero seems to shrink into himself for his bad joke. Katsuki sets down his chopsticks and studies Kaminari and notes a hint of a smirk. _Lying motherfucker._

"Wait- really?"

"Oh my god!"

"I'm so sorry Kaminari... I shouldn't of said that about your mom." Kaminari glances back up and grins at his friends mischievously.

"Nah, I'm just fucking around. Actually she said for you not to come 'round no more because she couldn't feel a thing." Ashido bolts up from Kaminari and points at Sero from across the table.

"Ohhhhh, damn Sero got a baby dick!"

"No I don't!" His voice cracks at the end and Katsuki lets out a snort. In the corner of his eye, he sees Kirishima looking at him, smiling. _The hell he cheesing for?_

"Act your fucking ages, y'aint even funny." A sudden discomfort settles across the table as they hear heavy panting from behind.

"Perhaps I... could go... and visit your mom next?" Kaminari whips around and glares Mineta in disgust.

"The hell is wrong with you? You're disgusting. That's my mom."

"But Sero-" Ashido rolls her eyes, something that Katsuki never really thought she could do before.

"We were all just messing around. Get outta here you perv!" Kirishima shakes his head staring down sadly at the tiny and gross teen.

"Yeah, that's not even right dude."

"We're gonna sick Bakugo on you if you don't leave us alone!" Sero pipes up and the other three nod vigorously.

"What am I? Your attack dog or some shit?!" Katsuki snarls out, "Just ignore the little freak. He just wants a rise outta us." Mineta doesn't move and instead stares up at Katsuki with those creepy blank eyes of his. _The hell is wrong with this kid? How did he even get into UA?_

"Well! Do you wanna fuckin' die or something grape shit? Get outta here!"

"The patriarchy will crumble soon and I will be the one getting all the sweet babes." Mineta seems to melt into the shadows and the atmosphere instantly brightens again.

"Damn Bakugo, where you hiding all those sweet babes of yours?" Sero leans on the palm of his hand and offers Katsuki his large and trademark Totoro-esque smile. He feels Kirishima still looking at him and risks a quick glance over at the red head and sees he's no longer smiling but watching him with a strange expression that Katsuki can't quite place what it is.

"None of 'em would want you with that tiny dick of yours." He kicks back in his chair and stares down at Sero with a smug grin. Ashido bolts up, for what feels like for the fifth time, and yells " _burn!_ " at Sero as the other boys laugh. _Dipshits may be annoying but they ain't too bad sometimes._

* * *

There's something about jogging that Katsuki always loved. It's always been a good outlet for him to work off any extra steam and goodness knows that he has all the steam in the world to work off. Normally he has a pair of Bluetooth headphones to listen to while he jogs around the campus but he must've forgotten to charge them last night because they were not going to turn on for the life of it.

It doesn't matter though, with each crunch of the fallen leaves from his steady run- he imagines that they're his rivals. More or less, specifically _Midoriya_. That always brings a smile to his face. Oh how he dreams of the day of squashing that green haired punk to the ground once and for all. A sudden _certain_ annoying laugh rings out behind him and Katsuki clenches his teeth.

"Ahahahahaha, Could it be? It must be! One of the top students of the _ever_ superior Class 1-A having to train? Surely this means the downfall of Class 1-A! Finally it is time for Class 1-B to rise to the top! Hahahahaha!" _Don't give that punk ass the satisfaction._

"It must be to make up for that time you were on house arrest! Ahahaha! Class 1-B would _never_ be caught dead on house arrest!" _No, but soon they'll be finding your fucking dead body. Just watch me._ Monoma catches up with Katsuki, he notices that Monoma is slightly out of breath but still manages to keep pace.

"Where's the rest of your _l_ _ittle_ group. I don't even see that wannabe Testutestu anywhere." _Imma fucking regret this._

"The fuck is a Testutestu?" Monoma brings back his head and breathlessly laughs.

"Only one of the best from our class. I'm talking about that dumb rock for brains red head that's always with you." Katsuki abruptly stops in his tracks.

"Oi." He growls out and Monoma looks over his shoulder and stops too, still sporting his smirk.

"What? Did you run out of breath?" Katsuki strides over to Monoma and jabs a finger at his chest.

"Do you got a death wish or sumthin' punk?" Monoma swipes away Katsuki's finger.

"As if," He pauses and his blue eyes twinkle with what Katsuki can only describe as " _Asshole Know it all Syndrome_ " with a mix of " _Overconfident yet Stupid Jerk_ " "It seems that I've might've hit a nerve there. I was just wondering, after all he always follows you like a little bitch. Did you two break up or something?"

"You motherfucker! Say that again and I'll blow you the _fuck_ up." Katsuki growls out quietly as flames start to flicker in the center of his palms and before Monoma has a chance to retort back, All Might steps in.

"Boys, boys. Please," Each skeletal thin hand rests on either boy's shoulder, "Young Bakugo, mind if I have a word with you?"

"Yeah sure whatever, just get offa me. Wasn't gonna waste my time on this piece of dirt anyway." Both All Might and Katsuki walk away, casting one more look over his shoulder he sees Monoma throwing him a wink before walking in the other direction. _Honestly, what the fuck is his problem? How do all these freaks get accepted here?_ They continue to walk in silence until they reach a secluded spot and All Might sits down on the park bench.

"Bakugo Kid. Sit down." Normally Katsuki wouldn't really take orders from anyone, but this is All Might. Retired or not, he's the sole reason why Katsuki decided as a kid to be number one. He slowly sits down at the edge of the bench and crosses his arms across his chest.

"I didn't do anything."

"I know you didn't. I want to talk to you about something else." _Why does everyone want to talk to me lately? Just let me do my fucking thing and leave me alone._ Katsuki doesn't say anything and after All Might clears his throat he continues.

"It's come to not only mine but also your other teachers' attention that there is something bothering you. You haven't really talked about that night. Do you mind if I tell you my thoughts?" Katsuki shrugs his shoulders and wishes that he was anywhere but here right now.

"Young Bakugo... I offer my sincerest apologies, I should've been there at the training camp and prevented all of this. It is one of my biggest regrets as a hero and is absolutely my biggest regret as your teacher for failing for protecting you and the rest of your class." All Might rubs his chin thoughtfully and stares up at the school.

"Does my retirement still eat at you?" Katsuki chews on the inside of his cheek. Remembering his breathing exercises to keep his cool.

"Of course it still pisses me off. I mean I know that you explained it to me an' all but like," Katsuki cuts himself off and stares down at his palms.

"Like what?"

"If I had just been stronger. I wouldn't of have even gotten fucking kidnapped in the first place. You went through all that trouble... because in the end I was just too damn weak to even fight off some lame ass villains."

"Ah, never underestimate any villain. Nothing is more dangerous than a cornered criminal that seemingly has nothing to lose." They sit in uncomfortable silence. All Might coughs quietly and Katsuki chews on his lip in contrition. _I have to get stronger, I have to._

"I've heard that you've been having nightmares."

"Who told you that?" _If it's damn shitty hair, we're gonna have a problem._ All Might gazes at him with a soft and nearly paternal like smile.

"Never mind that, just know that there's a lot more people that care for you than you think."

"Whatever."

"It's okay to accept help from others, Bakugo Kid." A lump rises in Katsuki's throat and he shakes his head.

"You never needed help." This time it's All Might's turn to shake his head.

"That's where you're wrong," All Might leans into his thin hands and regards the treeline thoughtfully, "I've needed help plenty of times."

"Yeah? When?" All Might chuckles and ruffles Katsuki's hair. _Do that again, I dare you._

"Well to name one time, I was fighting this really difficult enemy. When I was down, I got help from four young and very brave students," Katsuki sucks in a breath and feels his heart start to beat faster, "You, Kirishima, Todoroki and Midoriya to be more specific. Remember what I said that day?" Katsuki ponders before quietly adding, "A real hero will always find a way for justice to be served."

"Correct young Bakugo! That even extends to accepting the help of other heroes." A bell tolls in the distance and with a great sigh, All Might lurches up and pulls the corners of his mouth into a big smile with his fingers, "To quote someone very dear to me: no matter how scary it gets, you must always wear a smile that says " _I'm Fine!_ " For in this world, the ones who smile all the time are the strongest. Now hurry along, I heard Lunch Rush is making something special today for dinner. Best to not miss it!"

* * *

 _A real hero will always find a way for justice to be served... The ones who smile all the time are the strongest huh?_ Katsuki prods at his food with disinterest, the earlier conversation with All Might has his whole mind occupied. _Was it that important to him that we helped him at USJ?_ He studies the students around mess hall and sees everyone in their own respective groups, laughing and joking with one another.

Growing up, Katsuki never really thought about friendship. Sure, he had a little following but as it is with most grade school friendships: they all grow apart. Why would he need friendship when he could instead train and be the next All Might? No. To surpass even All Might and bring forth a new era for the heroes.

"Hey! Bakugo! There you are!" Four trays slam down all around him at once and Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero all plop down. Kaminari and Ashido start laughing at something from his phone and Sero pokes Katsuki in the ribs playfully.

"Mr. Explody, we were able to rent out Gym Gamma to practice fighting after dinner. Wanna join?"

"Why would I wanna fuckin' spar with you losers?" Kirishima, on his other side gives him a sly smirk.

"Well. We're asking because we're going up against Midoriya and his group. I think with all of us, we could pretty easily beat them, yeah?" Katsuki feels a grin spread across from his face and he leans back in his chair, looking at the four around him.

"Fuckin' bring it."

* * *

The large and vast room of Gamma Gym lights up as ten teens walk through the front doors. They split into two groups- five on each side. Katsuki leads his squad to the left while Midoriya and his group head to the right. Lining up, Katsuki studies the opposing team. Midoriya in the middle with Iida and Uraraka on one side and Todoroki and Asui on the other.

"Ready to die punks?!" Katsuki shouts out, his gruff voice echoes off of the empty walls of the gym. A chorus of support rings out from his squad. Todoroki puts an arm out in front of Midoriya to keep him from saying something.

"Don't waste your breath on them. They're not worth it."

"What did you say you half'n'half bitch?" Todoroki smiles slightly and raises his right hand towards them. Instantly the temperature drops and a wall of ice rises from the ground, trapping Katsuki's team in ice.

"You need to cool down your temper a little bit."

"A little ice can't do shit against me." Katsuki's palms ignite and instantly all that remains of the ice is puddles. He propels himself forward in the air and Todoroki stomps down his foot, a fresh wave of ice hits Katsuki in the chest and he lands back down on the ground.

"You're too brash Bakugo." The others on Katsuki's team run towards the opposing team. Kirishima shouts over his shoulder to Katsuki.

"I got Todoroki, he's no match against my quirk!" All at once his skin transforms to a hard plated and spiked armor, "Focus on Midoriya!"

"Let's fuck these assholes up!"

Throughout the match, all the pent up frustration from this past month melts away as Katsuki pummels Midoriya with an explosion. He sees a shadow dart across the left side of his vision and counter attacks Uraraka with a swipe of flames. _That was close. Roundface is always too damned sneaky for her own good._

"Oh no you don't!" A wave of tape launches past his face and latches onto Uraraka and pulls her back.

He surveys the spar for a moment. Asui seems to be holding up pretty well against Ashido, both seem to be at an even match. Kaminari fights against Iida, a smart move. Both Kaminari and Iida strike hard and fast but with Iida's metal engine- Kaminari is able to use that to his advantage with his electrifying attacks. _Fucker better be keeping an eye out for his wattage limit though._ Uraraka breaks free of her binds and is giving Sero more what he bargained for. _Good luck with that one Scotch Tape, she's not at all fragile like what you thought._ Lastly, he looks over at Kirishima and Todoroki battling it out. No matter the amount of ice and fire thrown at his way, Kirishima continues to make his way forward- smiling. _The ones who smile all the time are the strongest._ He feels a grin of his own growing as he takes a step towards Midoriya.

"Time to finish this, Deku."

* * *

Katsuki's team- minus Ashido, enjoy relaxing in the bath house to celebrate their victory.

"That was so awesome. Damn, we're so fucking awesome!" Kaminari leans against Sero and shoots Katsuki a thumbs up, "You should've seen yourself dude! The way you flew yourself through the air like that! Wicked cool!"

"Damn right. Told 'em we were gonna fuck 'em up." Katsuki soaks in the praise and closes his eyes. Thinking back to the fight. _Deku is starting to make that quirk his own finally. I'll still beat him every time though._ The boys continue to joke around with each other as Katsuki watches them with amusement. Eventually, the steam and hot water starts to make him feel tired and he excuses himself.

* * *

The ride up the elevator to the fourth floor is quiet, normally there's elevator music playing in the background but one day Kaminari and Ashido tried to hack into it to play their own music and ultimately broke the speakers. UA still hadn't gotten around to fix the speakers but Katsuki doesn't mind, despite his loud personality, he prefers the silence.

He's about to settle into bed, tired from the long day he's had when a timid knock at the door catches his attention. Without waiting for a response, the door opens and Kirishima steps in. In a pair of loose shorts and a large shirt that says " _Riot!_ " on the front. His vermilion hair, still dripping with water, is pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hey, you seemed kinda out of it earlier. Everything okay?" Bakugo leans against the wall and doesn't take his eyes off of Kirishima.

"Yeah. Shit is fine." Kirishima nods.

"Uh what do you wanna do about tonight?" Katsuki smiles and he waves Kirishima over.

"Might as well just fucking stay, you're already here." Kirishima looks at him through his bangs and smiles softly.

"Okay."

* * *

 _He's shrouded in darkness. No matter where he turns, he sees nothing. Not even his own hands. "Where am I?" Katsuki wonders aloud. At the sound of his voice, he hears something shuffling behind him. The darkness slowly parts and a tall figure materializes, confidently it strides towards him. Katsuki takes a step back and feels his stomach drop. He's on a cliff. Nowhere to go. Closely, oh so closely this figure advances until they are within touching distance and only then does it stop. Its arm reaches out and gently rests four fingers on Katsuki's chest._

 _"Now, die." Its raspy voice whispers with contempt as it pushes Katsuki backwards. He stomach lurches as he looses his footing and falls. All around him, hands reach out from the darkness- grabbing at him and tearing at his clothes. Behind the hands,dull and angry red eyes glare at Katsuki. He falls for what seems to be forever until a soft white light drives away the hands and judging eyes. Katsuki lands gently on the ground and looks around. Nothing is around him but for a glowing mirror._

 _Step by tentative step he walks up to the mirror and cautiously peers into it. Instead of seeing his own reflection- he's met with the ever smiling visage of Kirishima. In the mirror, Kirishima lifts up a hand to place against the bright surface._

 _"They are nothing but dreams! You don't have to be afraid." The light flickers and a dark hand curls around the edge of the mirror._

 _"Running is futile. You will die." The rasping voice is back and Katsuki stumbles away from the mirror in shock. Kirishima smiles warmly at him and the light in the mirror starts to pulse._

 _"Wake up." His soft voice cuts through Katsuki's fear._

And he lurches up from bed. _What the fuck even was that?_ The rustle of blankets capture his attention and he looks down to his right. Sprawled out next to him is Kirishima sleeping peacefully.

He continues to watch him as the moonlight plays upon Kirishima's hair- the soft glow against the shock of red locks that fan out against the pillow remind Katsuki of fire. Instead of being destructive like his own flames though, he feels nothing but warmth and life. He lets his eyes wander across Kirishima's face, from the small scar on his right eye to the high and proud cheekbones and finally to the sharp and pointed teeth. Kirishima lets out a soft snore and turns away towards the wall. Katsuki doesn't move for another second before laying down, studying the back of Kirishima.

 _Just what are you to me?_

* * *

Author's Note

This would've been up yesterday but I was trying to figure out how to even start this chapter. And then when I got home from work, I ended up sleeping for like twelve hours in the middle of writing it. Nonetheless, here it is! *insert hungover Spongebob picture here*

The more I write the Bakusquad, the more I love them. They're probably some of the most fun characters I've written since like forever. They honestly remind me of my group of friends I had back in high school. Anyway, I should have the next chapter up in the next day or two? Most of my other (ancient) stories have always had shorter chapters which meant for fast updates in the past but for this story I like having longer chapters instead so writing takes me a little longer. As for the length of this story as a whole... I'm aiming for about ten chapters? I keep thinking of more things to add though. So who knows how long it might end up being. That's all for now. Until then, fairwinds!


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing that Eijiro notices when the alarm clock startles him awake is how _dark_ the room is. The second thing being an unnaturally warm body pressed up against his own. Bakugo hides his head under the pillow and presses his hands against it to cancel out the alarm with a grumble. Eijiro doesn't move and instead tries to calm his breathing. Even with Bakugo next to him, waking up in total darkness is never on his to-do list.

"You okay?" A soft murmur breaks Eijiro's thoughts, "You're breathing like you're about to give birth of sumthin'. More annoying than that fucking alarm clock." Bakugo's voice is still husky from sleep. Eijiro peeks over and sees a red eye staring at him from under the bend of the pillow.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm chill. Just- practicing breathing exercises!" He hears a soft snort and a pale hand shoots out from the comforter and smashes against the alarm clock, the sudden noise makes Eijiro tense up a little.

"Well stop, you're weirdin' me out." The two boys lay in silence for a moment, neither wanting to leave the comfort and warmth of the bed. Eventually Bakugo sits up and Eijiro tries not to pay attention to his bed head. _Oh my God, it's even more spikey than usual, how is that possible?_ Bakugo scratches the back of his head and looks over his shoulder at Eijiro.

"I gotta take a shower." Eijiro takes the hint and launches himself off of the bed and reaches for the door. As he closes the door softly behind him, he ignores the curious gaze of Bakugo.

* * *

Letting the hot water cascade over his body, Eijiro mentally kicks himself. _I gotta be strong for my bro. I can't believe I almost had a panic attack back there. God, I'm so unmanly._ He rests his forehead against the cool tile of the shower stall and closes his eyes.

Eijiro nearly slips against the bathroom tile as he steps out of the shower and he makes a mental note to buy a bath mat as he catches himself against the counter. Wiping away the steam from the mirror he studies himself with a small frown, the first thing catching his eyes are the roots of his hair. _Guess I'll have to buy some dye too then._ As he continues to inspect himself, twisting this way and that in front of the mirror he spies light scars standing out against the healthy sun kissed glow of his skin. Eijiro chuckles, "Man, I forgot how much of a pain it was to get used to my quirk." The image in the mirror smiles back at him and he shoots himself a thumbs up. _I better get ready. No use in thinking about the past._ He brings out the hairdryer and gel, if he's gotta be honest to himself, styling his hair is his favorite part of his morning ritual.

* * *

Aizawa straightens up from his slumped over position and blearily looks over the class. Eijiro catches his solemn gaze and quickly looks back down at the paper in front of him. He'd forgotten the last three questions for his English assignment and is hoping to finish it before first period starts. He's never been terrible at English per say but it certainly isn't his strong suit either. He hears a tired sigh and looks back up to see Aizawa idly rubbing his thumb along the dark ridge of his scar, looking lost in thought. Or maybe just sleeping with his eyes open Eijiro surmises. One could really never jump to conclusions when it comes to their ever tired teacher.

"Psst." Sero taps Eijiro on the shoulder and scoots closer, "I didn't do the work for English, can I copy off of you?" Kaminari jumps up, hitting his knees against the desk and quickly turns around with panic in his eyes.

"We had homework?!" Kaminari's normally lazy drawl is replaced with a frantic and desperate whispered scream. Eijiro takes a moment to be thankful that Kaminari doesn't have a quirk like Present Mic's or he's sure that all of Class 1-A would be deaf by now. Ashido reaches over and softly punches Kaminari on the shoulder with a giggle.

"You're hopeless! Present Mic is going to absolutely murder you!" As if being summoned by Ashido- the door slams open and in walks their English teacher.

"Good Monday mooooooorning! Let's see that assignment! Everyone please pass it up front!" Aizawa rises from the desk and walks out the door without saying anything as Present Mic and Kaminari start to squabble.

"Kaminari! Again?" Eijiro feels a pang of sympathy for Kaminari who's rushing to fill in the answers and is near tears.

"I still have five minutes before your class starts! You'll have to pry it from my cold and dead hands!"

"What an idiot." Bakugo announces to no one in particular as he rests his feet against the desk and snickers at the ensuing chaos. Ashido sadly shakes her head and rests a hand against her chest.

"Press " _F_ " to pay respects." Eijiro hears a few classmates say " _F_ " under their breath and Eijiro fights the urge to laugh. Sero hands Eijiro his homework back and winks.

"Thanks to the brave sacrifice of our dear friend Kaminari- _I_ won't be getting detention today." Kirishima nods sagely, "A true friend indeed."

Throughout the rest of the upcoming classes, Eijiro finds his attention drawn to Bakugo for no particular reason. Watching his mannerisms just seems to be more interesting than any of the teachers' lessons for the day. From the way he doesn't hesitate to call out any of the classmates' questions to his petty remarks to Midoriya who has the misfortune to sit behind him. The way his fiery friend snorts and smirks occasionally at the teacher's lectures brings a smile to Eijiro's own lips.

At one point, Bakugo stretches and reaches back- "accidentally" swiping Midoriya's papers to the ground. The blond was never one to conform to the school's dress code and instead prefers to wear his pants baggy and shirt untucked. Some teachers tried to make Bakugo dress a little more respectfully but after he pointed out that Hagakure's hero costume is literally nothing but just a pair boots and gloves- they gave up. As he continues to stretch, Eijiro is drawn to the rise of Bakugo's shirt. He feels his face flush and quickly looks away as he spots the black band of Bakugo's boxer briefs and the hint of his six pack.

He feels a pair of eyes boring into him and glances up to see Ashido's looking from between him and Bakugo- she raises an eyebrow and smiles mischievously at him. He snaps his attention back down to his papers as she whispers something into Kaminari's ear.

The lunch bell rings and Eijiro stays back, slowly packing up his bags. Ashido, Kaminari and Sero share knowing glances between each other before they shuffle towards the door- whispering among each other. Kaminari takes a peek over his shoulder and smiles at Eijiro before the three disappear. A shadow falls over Eijiro's desk and Bakugo slings his backpack across his shoulder with a bored look.

"I don't feel like eating with you bunch of neanderthals so don't bother to wait up for me." Soon Eijiro finds himself to be the only one inside the classroom besides Aizawa who once again may or may not be asleep at his desk. He's about to make his way out the door when the low baritone voice of Aizawa grumbles behind him.

"Turn off the light before you leave, Kirishima."

"Yes sir." He obliges and quietly shuts the door behind him before sprinting towards mess hall.

* * *

"So." Eijiro doesn't stop eating but takes a quick glance up at his friends, all three sitting opposite of him and none of them have touched their food since Eijiro arrived. Instead they all study him like he's the most interesting thing they've seen in their lives.

"So?" Ashido rolls her eyes and taps the table impatiently.

"Please Kiri, don't act dumb!" Eijiro doesn't say anything and opts out to take a swig of water instead.

"Come on, man. We're not stupid!" Eijiro sets down his water and meets each of his friends' eyes and feels his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"I never said that you guys were stupid?" _What are they even talking about?_ They say nothing but shake their heads and start to eat lunch. All four of them eat in silence for a while before Kaminari sets down his bowl.

"So you and Bakugo, huh?" Eijiro starts to choke on his rice and Iida hurries over and firmly slaps at Eijiro's back.

"Please kindly eat slower to avoid choking on your food, Kirishima."

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks Iida, bro. You're a life saver." Iida nods and makes his way back to his table. Eijiro whips back around to see his three friends suppressing their laughter.  
"What did you say Kaminari?!" Kaminari runs his hands through his dark blond hair and rolls his eyes.

"Oh puh-lease, like we don't see how you stare at him like he's a piece of meat."

"I don't-"

"Kirishima, sweetie...honey, come on. You know we won't judge." Eijiro pushes back in his chair and feels a blush working its way across his face.

"I- there's nothing between us! " His voice crackles in the end and feels his blush burning even more.

"Don't be in denial dude."

"I'm not in denial! I don't like him like that!" His heart starts to rush as all three of them roll their eyes simultaneously and let out a string of "yeah" "mhmm" and "sure"'s, "It's true! He's just my bro!" Standing up with his tray he starts to hurriedly walk away before Sero could finish his question if he was going to meet up with Bakugo.

* * *

The next few days pass and Eijiro tries his hardest to avoid Bakugo during the day. Not that he can say he tries _too_ hard. Just seeing Bakugo's smile makes Eijiro unconsciously gravitate towards him. He's not sure if Bakugo notices but prays that he doesn't. Every now and then, he does catch Bakugo staring at him intently whether during class or lunch. Bakugo staring doesn't help at all with the situation he's found himself in with Ashido, Kaminari and Sero. No matter how many times he tries to tell them that they're not like that- the three seem to think otherwise and give him a knowing nod and a wink.

However, during the nights are a different matter all together. The two seem to mutually agree that one night will be in Bakugo's and the next in Eijiro's and so forth. If Eijiro has to be honest with himself, he prefers when they stay in his own room because Bakugo's room is just too hot and he still hasn't worked up the nerve to ask for him to keep a light on while they sleep.

So all in all, no matter how hard Eijiro tries to maintain his distance from Bakugo- there's nothing he can really do. He figures at this point that he's so far gone that he would even walk through the pits of hell if Bakugo told him to.

 _This is not good... I actually like him._ He tells himself over and over as the sleeping form of Bakugo rolls over and nuzzles against his arm. He feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest and needs to get some fresh air before he physically implodes into himself.

Carefully and very quietly he slides out of Bakugo's grasp and walks out onto his balcony. Breathing a sigh of relief he lays down on the cool cement and stares up at the night sky. Eijiro bites his lip and wonders what has he done to deserve to deal with his unrequited feelings. Having unrequited feelings is one thing, but for them to be towards Bakugo of all people is certainly a whole other thing upon itself. It just makes him nervous. Not only to be nervous around Bakugo, but also to be nervous for himself to accept for who he is.

His parents have always been pretty conservative, the typical upper class business type, and the thought of them finding out that their only son is crushing pretty hard on his best friend is something that he wants to avoid entirely. He thinks back to before he even joined UA: while he was growing up; LGBTQ+ groups fighting for equality were making headlines in waves and his parents would never hesitate to say their thoughts on the matter. Of which were always negative.

Eijiro remembers back to when he truly realized that he wasn't quite like everyone else. Coming back from summer vacation in his first year in middle school. He still hadn't quite gone through puberty yet but there were a few boys who boasted with their lower voices and height. Their newfound confidence and irresistible manly aura just attracted Eijiro- like a moth to a flame.

The door of the balcony slides open and Eijiro sits up to come face to face with a particularly irritated Bakugo looking down at him.

"The fuck you doing out here?" Racking through his brain Eijiro tries to find an excuse but comes up with nothing. Bakugo squats down next to him and gives him a look that could be taken as concern.

"You've just been actin' all fucking weird this past week. So don't try to bullshit me about something stupid." Eijiro laughs nervously and runs his hands through his long hair.

"Nothing is up! I just like watching the stars sometimes!" Bakugo's ruby eyes seem to bore their way into Eijiro's mind- seemingly trying to pick apart every thought Eijiro has ever had. He sighs and rubs at his face before sitting down fully.

"Look- Kirishima. You know I'm not one to be all up and fucking in someone's business but you telling me that you just like sitting up here to look at the stars is just about the most fucking stupid thing I've ever heard you say to date. You've never gotten up before to be all... whatever _this_ is." Eijiro keeps his eyes downcast and remains quiet. _I can't tell him. He'll never want to talk to me again._ Thankfully Bakugo doesn't seem to press the issue further. Something that makes Eijiro wary, after all, Bakugo is definitely not the type to let something go so easily. The two boys continue to study the clear night sky for the next few moments in silence.

"Y'know, sometimes it's so easy to get lost in something so stunning," Eijiro watches as puffs of air escape into the cold, now early October, night. "It's crazy that we live under something so... humbling and instead we ignore it half the time. Gotta make you think about what else we're missing out in the world." If Eijiro hadn't been so lost in the beauty of the twinkling stars in the inky darkness, he would've seen Bakugo gazing gently at him.

"...Yeah."

* * *

The rest of the week seems to melt away quickly enough. Soon, Saturday is upon them and everyone is lounging in the living room. All of them relaxing after a particularly hard day of both training and tests. The elevator dings and out steps Sato holding a tray what suspiciously looks like ice cream cake. Instantly the girls in the room perk up- always in a good mood when Sato arrives with sweets. He sets it down on the counter and smiles down at his classmates.

"I thought we all could use a pick-me-up." Uraraka latches herself on to his arm and smiles up at him.

"You are the best Sato!"

"Yeah! You're too sweet!"

"Aww, thanks Satoooooo!" Everyone settles down with their slice of ice cream cake and Kaminari and Jiro fight over what to play on the radio. Eijiro finds that oddly endearing as they both nearly have the same taste of music. The night couldn't get any better Eijiro thinks to himself right before Ashido gives him a smug smirk and stands up.

"I think we should all play a game!" She gains a few "ooh's" and "ahh's" and Eijiro feels his stomach sink, "How about a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Eijiro uses every bit of his willpower to _not_ run out of the living room. Sero yells out that he thinks that this is a fine idea and after his voiced support, all the other students start to agree too.

As Ashido passes Aoyama's hat around to collect names for the game Eijiro feels his stomach continuously sour and he starts to feel faint.

After gathering everyone's name, except for Mineta who they decided to ban after his lewd comments to the girls. Ashido holds the hat up high and has Sero reach into the hat to grab the names. _He's moving slower than Aizawa without his twelve morning coffees! Just get this done and over with!_ Finally fishing out two names he brings them down and proudly addresses the first two victims for the night.

"First is... Todoroki annnnnnd," Sero pauses dramatically looking around at the students and smiling wide, "Midoriya!" Eijiro hears a snort and sees Bakugo rolling his eyes before going back to his magazine. Eijiro watches the two enter the closet and wishes them the best. Midoriya has never been the most subtle on who he likes and Eijiro can only hope that things work out between the two of them. Everyone keeps an eye on the clock and as the minutes pass they get more and more restless. Finally right as the clock marks that it's been exactly seven minutes Uraraka opens the door and a very blushy and flustered Midoriya steps out of the closet with Todoroki following closely behind with a ghost of a smile. Gathering wolf whistles and cheers from the students.

"Okay! Who will be next?!" Ashido once again thrusts the hat into the air and this time Asui gathers the next two names. She silently reads the names and doesn't speak for a moment before calling out Kaminari and Jiro.

"Get her tiger!" He throws finger guns at Sero and Jiro rolls her eyes as she steps into the closet, closing it- resulting in Kaminari running into the door face first.  
"Hey! Rude!" Everyone laughs as he opens the door and slams it shut. Once again the class find themselves watching the clock and like before they open the door- only this time to catch Kaminari and Jiro in the act of kissing. A chorus of claps and cat calls ring out and the two walk out hand in hand. The nervousness in Eijiro's stomach doesn't settle, in fact, it starts to feel even worse. More and more names have been drawn but not Bakugo's nor his yet. This time it's Ashido's turn to draw from the hat and as she reads the two names in her hand a spark lights up in her eyes and Eijiro immediately wishes for death. His stomach starts to churn and he feels like he's going to throw up. _I knew I shouldn't of eaten that cake._

"Kirishima and Bakugo!" Bakugo sets down his magazine and slouches off towards the closet mumbling something under his breath. Eijiro follows and shoots a glare at Ashido who winks back at him while Sero makes kissing noises.

Shutting the door behind him, he's thankful that at least some light shines through the cracks of the door. The closet itself isn't too big and Eijiro is sitting close enough to feel the body heat of Bakugo. _Okay, okay. Stay calm dude. Just slow down your breathing before he thinks you're being weird. Just count the seconds. Seven minutes isn't that hard! You can do this! You're a hero in training dammit!_

"Man, this is so fuckin' stupid, yeah? I can't believe that I agreed to do this." Eijiro is pretty sure that he just heard his heart break.

"Uh, yeah. Hella stupid bro." Bakugo leans against the wall and peers over at Eijiro, the light from the living room seemingly make his eyes glow in the dark.

"At least I didn't get fucking Deku. One of us woulda ended dead in here and it wouldn't have been me." Eijiro laughs and Bakugo offers him a slim grin. They fall into a familiar silence and by Eijiro's counting they should be into minute two by now.

His eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and he takes the opportunity to study Bakugo. His slender face has always been pleasing to look at. From his endearingly small nose and the soft rise of his cheekbones leading Eijiro's eyes to Bakugo's own fiery eyes. Right now however, they seem to be looking back at Eijiro with curiosity and one of his thin eye brows rises. Eijiro allows himself to look down and sees that there's still a smile playing coyly upon Bakugo's thin lips. Eijiro swallows thickly and looks away quickly. _To quoteth Squidward: "Oh no he's hot!" This will be the longest seven minutes of my life if he continues to look at me like that._ By the time that Eijiro manages to keep his heart from leaping out from his chest he figures that three minutes should be up by now. _Almost half way done!_ Bakugo starts to fidget next to him, their shoulders graze past each other and Eijiro has to remind himself to breathe. Not only for keeping himself calm but to keep himself from puking all over his crush.

"Is it startin' to get stuffy in here or what?" Eijiro hums out in agreement. Being so close to Bakugo is making him want to curl into himself and die. The familiar spicy smell of his shampoo wafts over and Eijiro fights the urge to run his hands through Bakugo's hair. _Why is it so different when we're awake and this close? Oh my God, I think I'm going to die and really go to heaven._ He hears Bakugo talking about something but Eijiro tries to focus on not dying. _Keep counting the seconds. It should be almost over. Soon, I'll be able to die in peace._

"Hey." Eijiro swallows again and side glances at Bakugo. Nearly jumping out of his skin when he sees how close Bakugo has gotten. _What is he doing?! I can't do this! Okay. You're fine Eijiro. Just remember to breathe. Starting to get light headed..._

"Yeah Bakugo?" Bakugo's shoulder brushes up against him again and Eijiro licks his lips nervously. He watches in horror as the boy leans closer to Eijiro. _I am so glad that it's dark in here and he can't see me. Jesus, please save me._ His eyes fall on Bakugo's lips and feels his poor heart start to race again. _Please just give me a heart attack so I can die right here._ A sudden cramp pierces through his side and he abruptly stands up just as the door to the closet opens. The sudden light temporarily blinds him as he stumbles out into the living room.

Eijiro gives everyone a smile and tells them that he's going to head to bed. As the door of the elevator closes, he rests against the wall and lets out a pained groan. _I do this to myself every time. Why does ice cream have to be so damn good?_ Eijiro takes a moment to at least be thankful that his lactose intolerance isn't as severe as his dad's. At least he can still deal with the pain and discomfort, unfortunately his father can't even look at dairy goods without having to book it towards the bathroom.

Crawling into bed, he curls into himself and tries to block out the pain. Just as he's about to fall asleep he hears a knock at the door.

"Come in." The person at the door doesn't move for a moment before quietly opening and taking a step in.

"Okay what's going on?" _Of course it has to be Bakugo. I can't face him right now._ He feels a dip in the mattress as Bakugo sits down and stares down at him, his eyebrows knitted together with an odd expression.

"I shouldn't of eaten that cake." Eijiro murmurs into the pillow and the mattress squeaks as Bakugo stands up and walks out of the room. _Well at least I can die in peace now._ A few moments of silence stretches across his dorm and he wishes that he turned on the fan before crawling into bed to provide some white noise. He hears the door slide open again and inwardly groans. _The one time I want to be alone..._

"Here." Eijiro looks up from the pillow and sees Bakugo with a cup of water and some peppermints, "Try sipping on the water and the mints should help with your stomach ache... Why didn't you tell anyone you're fucking lactose intolerant?" Eijiro unwraps a mint and pops it in his mouth and closes his eyes as he falls back into the pillow.

"Ice cream is just too good to ignore!" He hears a chuckle as the boy lays down next to him.

"You're such an idiot."

* * *

Author's Note

Okay, so Kirishima might just be a little OOC in this chapter but the poor kid is having his own problems going on in this chapter, nobody really acts like themselves when being teased by friends about crushes and dying from excruciating pain from cursed dairy products. I know the feeling too well of wanting to eat ice cream but can't because it always kills me. What a sad life, I'm allergic to like everything. Also, this chapter does kind of hit at home with Kirishima's family situation. My ex outed me as bisexual to my family and hoo boy... Since then I've been pretty much disowned by everyone except for like... two people. So there's that;; I was originally going to have Bakugo have that conflict instead but then I realized... it's Bakugo. I'd have a feeling he'd probably just tell his family to stick it where the sun doesn't shine and move on with his life.

Also, I couldn't think up of any other ships for the Seven Minutes in Heaven. I was browsing through Tumblr and Reddit for more ships but just ended up falling into a rabbit whole of... strange subreddits (looking at you r/ChurchofMineta) and old ship wars. The only other pairing that I also like is ErasureMic but there was no way in hell that I was going to throw in a couple of adult teachers in there too. With the other students I just couldn't really think of pairings to I just kind of went with the most popular ships... lol. Sorry.

Ending on a random note, like I've stated somewhere before- I work nights so I'm usually always up working away on this story during the night and the past two nights I've had off and my two cats just kept staring at the corner of my room for the whole duration of me writing this story. (Which is by no means a short amount of time) so I can safely say I'm probably being stalked by a ghost. Please send help. Well anyway, until then, fairwinds.


	5. Chapter 5

Katsuki hears the snickers of Kirishima's little friends and how they keep looking at him. He isn't stupid; he admits, never out loud of course, that he may not be the best at social cues but he's sure as hell _not_ stupid. He doesn't know what game Kirishima is playing at but it's starting to piss him off. Just a little bit. He doesn't have time for them and he definitely doesn't have time for their stupid little games.

The lunch bell rings and he grits his teeth together as he hears them giggling like a bunch of school girls. _I don't gotta take their shit. Fuck 'em._ Sauntering up to Kirishima, he slings the backpack over his shoulder and tries to look as disinterested as possible.

"I don't feel like eating with you bunch of neanderthals so don't bother to wait up for me." A hurt expression washes over Kirishima for a brief second before he returns to his normal cheerful self; for that brief second though, Katsuki feels a pang in his heart but he pushes it back down. He refuses to look like a fool. So naturally, he refuses to fall into whatever Kirishima and his lame friends have planned.

And that's how he finds himself in the kitchen of the dorm building with Uraraka sitting across from him. He tries to focus on his bowl of tantanmen but is steadily growing more irritated by the second.

"What're you staring at Roundface?" She pouts and crosses her arms, "Would your mom be proud to see how rude you are?" Katsuki snorts and eats another bite of his lunch.

"Lady, you should be glad you haven't met my mom." She returns to snacking on her dried squid dejectedly and for a moment, Katsuki eats in peace until he spies Uraraka staring at him with a puzzled look. He inwardly screams and prepares himself for more pointless and awkward small talk, surprising himself on how much patience he has for the day. Knowing if it was just about anyone else, he would've stormed off by now.

"So why aren't you with your friends?"

"What friends?" He pauses, taking another bite, "I don't have any friends."

"Then what is Kirishima to you?" Katsuki nearly chokes on his lunch, "And Ashido, Kaminari and Sero? You're always with them. Seem like friends to me." she retorts back with a shrug.

"That's because they're a bunch of losers and don't know the meaning of personal space, even if it fuckin' kicked 'em in the face." Uraraka nods thoughtfully.

"Wouldn't that, like, be the opposite of personal space though?"

"Shut up."

"Are you guys fighting?" Katsuki sets down his chopsticks and regards her with his infamous glare. Instead she takes that as encouragement to continue on with her rambling.

"Or is it something else?" As much as he tries to fight it, his heart starts to flutter as his mind conjures up a smiling Kirishima. Katsuki swallows thickly and clenches his fist under the table, wishing that he could make people explode with his mind.

"No." His response is too late and Uraraka's eyes light up. Not with mischief he notes, but of pure unadulterated excitement.

"Oh my God," she breathes and leans away from the counter with her smile growing, "Who is it?" _I just wanna eat my fucking lunch in peace dammit. Why must I be surrounded by assholes?_

"Who is what?" She rolls her eyes and gently slams her hands back on the counter with exasperation.

"Who do you _l_ _ike_?"

"I don't like _anyone_. Fuck off." This time his reply comes too quickly and her grin grows still. _Is her dad the fucking Cheshire Cat or sumthin'? No way possible for some dumbass to smile this much._

"It's Ashido isn't it?"

" _Fuck_ no, I told you I don't li-"

"Kaminari!" He rolls his eyes and wishes that her quirk included not being able to talk or just not having a mouth in general.

" _Hell no_! Listen here you dimwit-"

"Kirishima!" Katsuki feels blood rush up to his ears and massages his temples. _Don't explode her. Don't explode her. It's not worth going to prison over some lame girl._

"Uraraka I'm _l_ _iterally_ going to kill you."

"It's Kirishima!" She squeals, dancing away from the counter top, "Oh my God! That's _so_ cute! You guys look so perfect together!"

"No. We're not-" Katsuki sighs "There's nothing between us, dipshit."

"You said that there's nothing between you two but you didn't deny that you don't like him!"

"You are by far, the most fuckin' annoying creature in this damn world." She gives him a smug grin this time.

"If you tell me, I'll leave you alone. Plus! Maybe I can help you!" All Might's words of accepting other's help echoes through Katsuki's mind and before he can stop himself he admits it.

"Okay, so maybe I do? Now kindly fuck off before I kick your ass again." Uraraka giggles and claps her hands excitably. Katsuki mentally kicks his own ass for just admitting who he liked. _Well, I guess it could've been Deku. Then I'd have to kill him afterwards. So maybe it sucks that I didn't tell him._

"Ohhhh, I knew it! You have to tell him!"

"Why the hell would I bother telling him?" She raises an eyebrow quizzically and cocks her head to the side.

"Uhh, because it's ob-" Iida rushes into the room and sternly reminds them that class is about to begin in ten minutes. Katsuki glares down at his barely touched lunch and dumps it in the trash.

"You owe me more tantanmen Roundface." He mutters as he slouches off to class.

"My face isn't even that round!" He hears her shout after him.

* * *

He isn't entirely sure about Kirishima's sudden shift of personality but it's pissing him off. He'd have to be blind not to notice the way that Kirishima starts to stammer around him and tries to slink away like he's done something wrong. Hell, for all Katsuki knows, maybe Kirishima _did_ do something wrong. Wrong enough not to tell him though? Must be pretty severe. He likes to at least think that after Kirishima found out about his nightmares that Kirishima would have the common sense to come to Katsuki if he needs something. Sure, he may be blunt about it but deep down, he does care. Maybe too much for his own good. _Look where this has gotten me. Nowhere. Absolutely fucking nowhere._ Not that he was trying to get anywhere with Kirishima in the first place. Why would he bother in trying to pursue something when the other has no reciprocated feelings? Plus, he has no time for that romance bullshit. The feelings will pass he tells himself every night as he stares up at the ceiling listening to the soft snores of Kirishima next to him.

* * *

One night he wakes up to find the bed cold. He's in Kirishima's room and that blasted air conditioner is going to be roundhouse kicked soon. There's nothing more that he hates than to be cold. Well actually, it's a close third. The top two are Deku and Todoroki of course. In that specific order. The light from the bathroom leaks onto the balcony and he spies Kirishima laying down on the floor of his balcony.

"The hell is he doing?" Swinging his legs over the bed, he groggily makes his way outside. Katsuki tries to get Kirishima to talk but the red head clearly doesn't want to talk so instead he sits down next to him and they fall into a comfortable silence.

"Y'know, sometimes it's so easy to get lost in something so stunning," Kirishima says after awhile, "It's crazy that we live under something so... humbling and instead we ignore it half the time. Gotta make you think about what else we're missing out in the world." Katsuki doesn't bother looking up at the stars and instead finds himself lost in Kirishima. He feels his heart quicken as Kirishima's lips pull into a beautiful smile as he continues to look up into the night sky, he finds himself smiling softly. _I am so fucked._

"...Yeah."

* * *

How did Katsuki end up in a dark closet with Kirishima less than a foot away is a mystery that he will probably never find out because he is currently five seconds away from spontaneous combustion. He counts the seconds in his head- making small talk was never a strong forté for Katsuki and all attempts he made earlier just seemed to be shut down or just laughed off awkwardly.

Out of habit, he finds himself getting closer to Kirishima. Close enough for their arms to brush against one another; something that Katsuki always found interesting was how Kirishima managed to keep such soft skin even with his hardening quirk. Katsuki smells the soft and subtle earthy undertones of Kirishima's cologne. A scent that he's learned to find comfort in these past few weeks.

He's been around Kirishima long enough to be able to read him like the back of his hand and notices that something is wrong with the red head.

"Hey." His own gruff voice cuts through the silence and he feels slightly bad for startling poor Kirishima.

"Yeah Bakugo?" Katsuki leans forward, reaching towards the boy's forehead to check if he's burning up because he's sure as hell not acting himself and the only other conclusion Katsuki can reach is that he's coming down with the flu or something. He's slightly taken aback when Kirishima suddenly stands up and bolts out of the closet when it opens. Leaving him with a heavy heart as he watches the quickly retreating figure of Kirishima.

"What did you do to him in there?! He looks like you murdered a dog in front of him or something!" Uraraka hisses in his ear as soon as she dragged him away from the rest of the students. Katsuki glances back over at Kirishima's group of friends and when they all make eye contact, they quickly look away. He huffs and shrugs.

"I don't know. He looked shitty since this stupid shit happened."

"What shit?" Katsuki vaguely gestures to the living room behind them.

"This shitty party," He crosses his arms and scrunches his nose, "I didn't do a damn thing. I told you earlier that I fucking wouldn't." She groans and shakes her head.

"You need to go and talk to him!"

"Why? You said so yourself that it looked like I killed a damned dog in front of him. Logically I'd be the last fucking person he'd wanna see." Uraraka starts to push him towards the elevators.

"Jesus, you're heavier than you look. Just... go talk to him dammit!"

"Fucking fine. Just don't touch me, damn punk."

* * *

After checking in with Kirishima he can't help but to laugh quietly as he watches the boy sleep. _You idiot, why didn't you tell anyone that you're lactose intolerant?_ His hand seems to have a mind of its own as it tentatively reaches out and brushes Kirishima's hair from his face. Katsuki realizes what he does and quickly retracts his hand, blushing.

As Katsuki lays in bed, for once the ticking of the clock and Kirishima's snores keep him up. A wave of anger bubbles up in his chest and he clenches his jaw. _There should be no need for me to fuckin' rely on this shit. I know there's something going on between him and his fucking friends. I'm just gonna end up lookin' like a little bitch in the end. This shit gotta stop._ As much as he wants to scream and shout and cry in frustration- he can't. Because every time he peaks over at the sleeping form of Kirishima, he finds himself calmed. He's had growing suspicions ever since he saw Kirishima bathed in the gentle moonlight but now he can safely and firmly say that he's in completely and utterly in love with his best friend.

* * *

Author's Note

I know this chapter is shorter than usual but I'll make up for it with the next chapter and I have an one shot in the progress too. I also know that this is basically just a recap from the last chapter but I think it should be pretty important to see how Bakugo is faring with everything. I couldn't really add anything too important because I have everything planned for the next chapter so the past few days just consisted of me drinking angrily out of my smoothie staring at the blank page as the text cursor kept blinking on with disappointment. Also, I like to think that after the sports festival Bakugo and Uraraka get a long really well. Not a total BROTP, but a softer version of it? That's pretty much it for now. Next chapter should be up soonish, I'll probably upload the one shot before the next chapter but we'll see how everything turns out. Until then, fairwinds.


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